A Portion of My Thoughts.....

The visit to Bandhavgarh was an amazing experience, but was made even more memorable due to our stay at 'The Roaring SalVan County'. My father had told us of its being located in the jungle itself, but I had expected a huge clearing with trees dotting the space here and there. I learned how very wrong I was when I saw the beautiful structures rising above the undergrowth. A signboard with the resort's name and the logo of the forest's very pride; the tiger, welcomed us into its grounds, Lakhan Ji, whom we got to know very well over the course of our stay guided us in parking the car. I stepped out and looked around in wonder. There was a deafening silence, a picturesque scene spread out before me, where trees punctuated the open land and cottages painted in colours of clay and white rose in between them. Few trees had been cut, the ground cleared only where the cottages and the dining pavilion were to be built. Various birds perched and nestled in the crooks of these...

My spirits were soaring high the day we reached Bandhavgarh as I was going to experience the joy of being a part of a safari for the very first time! Our safari was scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m. sharp; and thus it was mandatory for us to reach the Tala gate by 2:15 p.m. Stepping out of a cottage fit for the woods, we drove on towards the gate and were present to fill out the identification formalities well before time. Although I had been advised not to get my hopes too high in fear of disappointment, I was unable to keep from hoping feverishly that I would at least get a faint glimpse of the tiger.                                                                              *                                ...

The Diwali vacations were round the corner and I was excited to go on holiday! Though, our school spared not even a week for us to thoroughly enjoy ourselves, we children (and teachers) were still looking forward to this much-needed break from varying degrees of stress in our lives. My family was in the process of finalising a holiday destination and were debating upon whether we should go to Delhi. I; for one, was thrilled! I had been wanting to visit the capital for some time now, so when the topic of vacationing arose, I was the first to pipe up and suggest Delhi. Seeing the various, stunning monuments would have been enjoyable as well as an excellent learning experience! However, much to my disappointment, we collectively agreed to the cancellation due to the terrible pollution (which can already be observed and felt), but which would increase during Diwali. My father told us that he'd booked tickets for our stay in Jabalpur and Bandhavgarh. I'll admit it: when I first h...